The Chicago White Sox had quite the decision on their hands.
After some brutal seasons, they were set to host a home playoff game on Wednesday — ALDS Game 3 against the Cleveland Guardains — and it was a potential clincher. With a win, the White Sox advance to the ALCS.
They had to decide who would throw out the first pitch.
There are certainly some big names who have White Sox fandom, including Pope Leo XIV.
No one was expecting the Pope to come in from the Vatican, but there were a lot of guesses.
The guy who actually threw it surprised pretty much everyone.
Who Threw White Sox First Pitch?
The ceremonial first pitch at the White Sox game on Wednesday was thrown out by Belmont Cameli.
Cameli was chosen over a list of a bunch of potential luminaries and former players:
Update: Wasn’t the Pope, Obama, Oprah, Konerko, Buehrle, Dye, Thome (thank goodness), Vizquel, Alomar, Guillien, etc. etc. etc.
It was Belmont Cameli who I’m told is an Actor on some Prime Video show
— Chris Renkel (@Chris_Renkel) October 7, 2026
One player mentioned in that post, Jim Thome, played for both Cleveland and the White Sox.
He was shown on the broadcast as being at the ballpark, but it would’ve been odd to have him throw the pitch giving his ties to the visiting team.
In the end, Cameli was the choice, which left plenty of people trying to figure out who he is.
Who is Belmont Cameli?
Belmont Cameli (full name Philip Belmont Cameli) is an actor.
He’s 28 years old and originally from Naperville, Illinois, which explains his connection to the White Sox.
He has held major roles in a few shows. He was part of a Saved by the Bell reboot, then was part of the Netflix movie Along for the Ride, and he’s newly starring in an Amazon Prime Video streaming show called Off Campus. He also was in the Until Dawn movie, which is based on a popular video game.
Cameli has also been cast in an upcoming show called Hollow where he will star alongside Sydney Sweeney.
Before becoming an actor, Cameli was a three-sport athlete in high school.
Even if he was a bit of an upset pick, Cameli surely got a lot of joy out of the opportunity to throw out the ceremonial first pitch on a stage like this for Chicago.
This is Who Threw First Pitch at White Sox ALDS Game 3